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Alter Ego Body Care Products - Interviews with Indie Nail Creators #3

Interviews with Indie Nail Polish Creators - #3

Hey guys! I hope you're doing well! I really am exciting to be interviewing indie polish creators. We've seen so many new nail trends because of them & I can't wait too see what they have in store for us next! Since indie polishes are very popular right now I figured there's probably a lot of customers/fans who would love to get to know the person behind all their favourite creations. So that's what I'm going to be trying to help you do!

Questions are BOLD & the creators response will be in the regular font.

My name is Cynthia Decker, I am way old, I will be 62 next year! I have been "doing mah nails" as the family has called it since I started high school. I do love animals but my heart cannot take the pain of them going over the Rainbow Bridge any more, so I love all the bebbehs from afar. If it is your love, I enjoy hearing about the lil' ones ♥ Besides the usual cats and dogs I have friends that have lizards, fish, hamsters and birds, I am just as concerned for them as I am about the human children!

Alter Ego - Beach Comber

What is your nail polish brand & how did you come up with the name?

My brand is Alter Ego Body Care Products, started as Alter Ego Nail Enamels but when I got my state vendor license I changed it Body Care Products to give room for growth. I went with Alter Ego at the time thinking it would be unique name and give me more freedom, a lot of polishes were being named for songs, movies and TV shows. Little did I know at the time that having to come up with colors to match functions people do, want to do, have done, have a secret desire to do, can create a serious creative block!

What year did you start your brand & what motivated you?

I started in April 2012. As I said, I have been painting my nails for a VERY long time. I have always liked to do various crafts and I love color. Even the basic white, black, navy and brown have their place 😊 Nail Polish gives me that creative outlet but it is something I can physically handle alone, I have a life long back problem and am now aging with this issue. I am very weak physically, some days I cannot even lift my own purse!

Do you remember the name of the first polish you made &/or sold?

Armed Forces Vet which I still have in the shop 😊 It is a red, white, blue and silver glitter polish.

When creating a new polish, what's your inspiration process?

Sometimes it is the name and sometimes it is the color. I have woken up in the middle of the night and put a note on my phone's calendar of whatever it was that popped into my head so I won't forget it 😊

What is your all time favourite polish that you created?

I do not have any particular favorites. I have always strive to release all colors and finishes because I believe there is a color for everyone 😊 If I do not like what I have created it does not get released. There have been times when I have amazed myself at what I made, then there are those that I look at and tell myself, "Well, that certainly didn't turn out like I thought it would!"

What are your 3 top sellers of all times?

On line Desert Storm Trigger Puller and Beachcomber have always been liked, the other Egos all seem to depend on the buyers personal preference. I also do local craft shows, Jewellery Box Ballerina, Strawberry Shaker and Sugars Plums have proven to be popular to date.

Alter Ego - Desert Storm Trigger Puller

From your personal experience what are some pros & cons to being a indie polish creator?

Pros are definitely the creative process, seeing the vision completed and that it turns out to be everything I hoped for! Cons are that we indies have only so many suppliers that will work with us-we cannot usually afford or want pounds and/or gallons of colorants-so we are all getting the same colorants at the same time. People have finally begun to realize this and the accusations of intentional duping have gone way down, the understanding of our limitations have begun to be understood more.

Where is your brand based? Do you ship internationally?

I am in Madison, WI, the state capitol. It is in Southern WI, about 2 hours from both Chicago and Milwaukee depending on which way you want to go 😊

What's your favourite mainstream brand?

I never have had a favorite, for me it was about a particular polish than the brand itself.

What's your favourite indie brand?

I have the same answer about polish for indies as I do for mainstream. I will add here that having the phenomenal opportunity to become friends with other indies and spend time with them at the various functions I can afford to attend has been the biggest thrill! They are all such wonderful people, I am always thrilled and honored to be included in this world ♥

Is there anything else you'd like my readers to know?

Woooo, there is so much! Amongst the most important is to make it clear that duplication are never intentional and bloggers/reviewers have my utmost respect for their hard work, honesty and integrity! I, along with most other indies, do this in our free time. Along with these other indies my full time job pays the bills, provides the health insurance and gives me a little extra cash to pay for supplies to support this endeavor. We do always ask that people understand we are doing the best we under the conditions we have to work with, in this business many times it is "one step forward, two steps back." Just when we think everything is going great a major supplier shuts down, colors that tested for several months before release start morphing after release, we get a load of bottles that most are chipped or break in transit, a base shortage all a sudden appears-any number of not seen and not planned issues can come up. Please have faith, please understand, we are trying and do our best. Any decent maker would rather ask a buyer to wait to get the best quality product we can create rather than send something that is below our usual quality. Finally ,do understand we truly honor, respect and are eternally grateful and appreciative of our fans, we would be lost without each and every one ♥